


There’s No Straight Path to the Future, But the Meals Along the Way Sure are Delicious

by Sindeyella



Series: Connections Forged by Food [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Aran is just a really good senpai, Gen, Osamu is in love with food, Post-graduation plans, Uncertainty, but Osamu still clowns him, but it's set before the time skip, but more like the teenage type, career planning, post-time skip spoilers, rated t for mild cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28099188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sindeyella/pseuds/Sindeyella
Summary: For Osamu, the answer never came easily.  He definitely didn’t love volleyball as much as Atsumu.  That was clear in the winter of their first year of high school when Atsumu received an invitation to the All-Japan Youth camp and he didn’t.  Heck, Atsumu got angrier at the fact that he wasn’t invited than Osamu did himself.  Osamu knew he didn’t want to go professional, but how would he break it to his brother?  What did he actually want to do with his life?
Series: Connections Forged by Food [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058594
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	There’s No Straight Path to the Future, But the Meals Along the Way Sure are Delicious

**Author's Note:**

> This fic series (to be) was brought to you by an idea struck me while taking a mid-afternoon nap that lasted not even 10 minutes before I had class in the beginning of December. I’ve been sitting on it since the middle of midterm season and this first fic is brought to you by the post-submission euphoria of writing a 35-page lab report and 10-page paper over the span of three days. I hope that you enjoy it!  
> P.S. I love Atsumu and he will get his highlights in later parts of the series, just not this one.

For some people, words of love and affection come easily. Others struggle to distill all of their feelings down into mere words. Phrases like “I love you” seem weak when your brother constantly yaps about his admiration of the boy who was like the sun. Despite being twins, you couldn’t be any more different in that regard. When you asked Atsumu about his favorite thing in the world, he answered volleyball without a thought and with a smile on his face. He later muttered that Shoyou-kun was a close second right after volleyball. 

For Osamu, the answer never came easily. He definitely didn’t love volleyball as much as Atsumu. That was clear in the winter of their first year of high school when Atsumu received an invitation to the All-Japan Youth camp and he didn’t. Heck, Atsumu got angrier at the fact that he wasn’t invited than Osamu did himself. Osamu knew he didn’t want to go professional, but how would he break it to his brother? What _did_ he actually want to do with his life? 

If someone asked Osamu for what he looked forward to the most each day, _ah yes_ , that would be easy for him to answer. Their mother’s miso soup in the morning coupled with a steaming bowl of rice. The steamed sweet potato that he ate on the way to morning practice that kept his hands warm in the brisk winter air. The last of the convenience store bread that he stuffed into his mouth as he entered classroom 2-2. The large three-tier bento that he packed each day for lunch with the leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. _Don’t tell Atsumu that Osamu packed himself an extra-large portion of the leftover mackerel from last night_. The fried chicken onigiri that he stuffed into his mouth before afternoon practice. The crispness of ice-cold water and a sweet jelly after practice ended. The warm spread of food that he helped his parents prepare each night for dinner. To put it simply, Osamu loved eating. 

If someone asked Osamu, he wouldn’t be able to tell you when he started actually thinking about his plans for the future. Was it after Atsumu received the invitation to the camp in the winter of their first year? Was it after their loss in the Spring Interhigh to the upstart crows and his brother’s newfound love? Was it when Kita and Aran pulled each of the team members aside individually for a talk when they arrived back in Hyougo? Was it his homeroom teacher asking him to fill out the future plans form that he handed in blank? Was it the speaker at the school assembly who told the students to pursue happiness over wealth? _Speaking of which, I never got Tsumu back for all the paper balls he tossed towards me just because he was bored_. Osamu really didn’t know when he decided, but once he did, it was like he finally took a breath of fresh air.

“Hey, Tsumu?”

“Shut yer trap Samu, it’s four in the morning.”

“I’ve decided. I’m going to open an onigiri shop.”

“Mhmmm, now shut up and sleep. We have practice in a few hours,” Atsumu groaned. Five seconds later, he shot up and hit the bottom of Osamu’s bunk. “YOU’RE DOING WHAT NOW?!”

Anyone at Inarizaki High who saw Osamu the next day had to rub their eyes and look again. The grey-haired Miya twin sported enormous dark circles and bags. You could look at him and swear a zombie was wandering around the school. Yet the Miya twin who was normally quiet with a mouth full of food as he walked around was, wait no, this has to be a mistake. Was he _skipping?_ Did he just shove a handful of jelly fruit sticks into _the_ Suna Rintaro’s face? Okay, wait, Suna’s face also looked like he saw an alien. Osamu was never this happy and he never shared that much food at this hour. Maybe if you asked him for a small bite when he was almost done eating he would say yes. Giving someone what must have amounted to almost half of the pack? Unthinkable. 

Then you had the other Miya twin. Like his brother, Atsumu’s eye bags were so large that his eyes seemed like they were sunken into his face. He moved with slightly more energy than Osamu, but both of the twins were off. Find one and it was as good as looking at the other. While Osamu would normally be making snarky comments to those around him eyeing his food, Atsumu would be out wandering the hallways looking for his next target. If someone whispered how Atsumu was really quite rude to the band, Atsumu’s head would suddenly snap in their direction. He would dash over and immediately call them a scrub and tell them to say that to his face. No one ever really took him up on that offer after Atsumu continued pestering that one student during each break between periods until the kid apologized. Today? Someone could make all the comments about how Atsumu looked like he rose from the dead and he barely batted an eye. He kept muttering under his breath about something that sounded like “stupid Samu making these life decisions at _four, yes FOUR_ in the morning and keeping me up until we had to leave for practice.” 

The rest of the day rolled by normally until lunchtime. Osamu left his class to eat with his teammates. However, on his way, Aran caught him in the hallway.

“Osamu, we need to talk,” Aran said. He motioned for Osamu to follow him and they went towards the outside of the gymnasium. “Did you and Atsumu fight last night? You’re both off and no one in the team knows what’s happening. Both of you showed up to practice way more tired than you’ve ever been, but you weren’t attacking each other like you normally would. I heard people in my classroom whispering that the Miyas were off today. Suna texted me that you dropped by his class to give him some snacks and sent me a picture of you.” Aran held up his phone and Osamu swore that he didn’t recognize the person in the picture.

“Gimme that,” Osamu grunted.

“Stop trying to change the subject.”

“I need to delete that picture from the face of the Earth.”

“Osamu, stop it,” Aran sighed. “Kita, the team, and I are all worried about you two. We don’t know what’s going on, but we want to help as much as we can. You two were fine yesterday.” Aran flailed his arms in the air, spreading them out wide. “Today? Something was different. Not wrong, definitely, but we’ve never seen you two acting like this before.”

“Aran, I can explain.”

“No let me finish. Kita and I were worried about you two. We’ve been messaging each other during class.” He chuckled, “Can you imagine that stickler for routine breaking the rules? We just want to make sure that the two of you are ok. We wouldn’t want another repeat of the December 2012 incident where Atsumu refused to toss to you for a week.”

“Tsumu was just being dumb then.”

“Osamu. Please let me finish first. We decided to split up and catch both of you at the start of lunch. Kita left to talk to Atsumu and I’m here to talk to you. So please, let us know what’s going on.”

Osamu looked down at his feet. He just told his brother about his plans and now he has to tell Aran too? “I don’t want you to feel disappointed in me. Both you and Tsumu have your hearts set on going professional, and I guess this was obvious but – I never really felt that drive? And lying in my bed last night, staring at the ceiling, and thinking, I think I finally realized it.” He took a quick glance upwards and expected to see disappointment in Aran’s eyes. Instead, he was met with a warm smile. Aran’s eyes were glued to his face, watching Osamu intensely.

“You know. Both you and Atsumu get sticks up your asses sometimes about not being good enough, or needing to improve, or being disappointed in yourselves. First off, you’re not a unit with him. You don’t need to do everything together. You are your own separate person, and I’ve known that ever since we met at that volleyball workshop years ago.” Aran paused. “Ahhh, sorry I interrupted you. Please continue what you were saying.”

Osamu smiled back at Aran. Maybe this is what he needed. Instead of swallowing up everything by himself, maybe he just needed to talk to someone else besides his brother. “I realized it at four in the morning and told Tsumu.”

“That explains the dark circles.”

“I really thought about what makes me happy, and I realized it. What makes me happy is the experiences surrounding a good meal and food. Yes, there’s the pleasure of taking a bite of something and savoring the different flavors. But for me, nothing is better than enjoying a meal with my family, the team, and friends. It’s the experiences of eating the food with the people I love around me. Do you remember when I said that Tsumu played volleyball like he was eating a good meal? How once he got a taste of it, he could only want more? For me, it’s the smiles on people’s faces when they eat my cooking.” Osamu’s eyes began to clear up and a smile rose on his face. “Hey Aran,” Osamu said, “I think I’m gonna open up an onigiri shop after I graduate.”

Aran couldn’t help but let out a hearty chuckle. “Ya know what, that sounds just like you. But I have two questions for you. One, are you still down to be the vice-captain next year? Two, what are you going to name your shop and am I going to get free food?”

“ARAN!” Osamu yelled. He spills out his hard-thought plan and future and all Aran did was ask for free food. The grin on his face grew wider. “Ya know, I haven’t thought too much about that yet. Maybe if you’re nice I’ll give you a family discount, definitely a larger one than I’m giving Tsumu for sure. And just because I finally decided my post-graduation plans doesn’t mean that I’ll be quitting the team. Of course, I’ll be vice-captain, who else can stand dealing with Tsumu and preventing him from making dumb decisions.” 

“He is pretty dumb sometimes,” Aran laughed.

“I think you mean most of the time,” Osamu said. “But I’d never trade him for the world, he’s always been there for me. Without him, I wouldn’t have started playing volleyball and I wouldn’t have met you, Kita-san, and the rest of the team.”

“You’re gonna make me cry,” Aran said with his arms ready to envelop and hug Osamu.

“And about the name, hmmm,” Osamu said as he closed his eyes in thought. He opened them, and Aran recognized the characteristic Miya smirk and the glint in his eyes. “I think I’ll name it something _super_ foreign and cool sounding. Something like Super Onigiri to the Max or something super catchy. Maybe I could even name it after you!”

Aran’s arms may have dropped to his side, but onlookers could have sworn the athlete’s jaw dropped further. “ _Osamu_ , how many times do I have to say that joke is getting old? You’ve been teasing me since we were young about it. And besides, shouldn’t you be putting more work into choosing a name?”

“Nah, I think that’s a good one. I could even have a limited-time Aran special with a limited quantity. Once it’s sold out for the day, there’d be no more.”

“I’d be honored,” Aran chuckles with tears coming out of his eyes. He pulls out his phone to text Kita that everything was ok. Kita replied with a short message saying that everything was resolved on his end as well. As he puts away his phone, Aran hears a growl coming from his side. “Osamu, was that you?”

“Shut it, and let’s just go and eat with the team. There’s only ten minutes left until lunch ends and I’m not going to survive the rest of my classes if I can’t eat something, I will pass out.”

They never ended up meeting the rest of the team for lunch. Osamu accidentally grabbed his empty box from breakfast and left his lunch in the classroom. By the time he realized, he had to make a mad dash back to the classroom to eat before lunch ended. Atsumu on the other hand? He was back to normal and clowned Osamu throughout afternoon practice. But after his conversation with Aran today, Osamu felt better. He knew what he wanted to do in the future, and he just had to tell his parents. Maybe he would cook them a meal first. After all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe a home-cooked meal could be the fuel and starter for a long night of conversation about his future and dreams. 


End file.
